Esports Are Growing Fast

Esports are organized multi-player gaming competitions. Though they are played via human-computer interfaces, they share many qualities with physical sports: they are a big business, valued at around $610 million globally, and their players can acquire celebrity status, significant wealth, and physical injuries as a result of their participation. One of the earliest instances of organized esports occurred in 1980 with an Atari Space Invaders competition with 10,000 players. In the 1990s, the popularity of games such as Doom and Starcraft helped accelerate the rise of esports. Today their popularity has continued to grow.